How hard is it to grade a yard for new sods?

I'm thinking about rental a skid steer and grade my own back yard. I have never driven a skid steer. How hard is it to do it my self? I will be getting some topsoil delivered to my drive way and use the skid steer to haul these top soil to my backyard. Another thing I'm concerning about is the space to have the top soil sit on. I wonder if a two car garage drive way is enough for a 90 cubic yard top soil. And will the drive way hold 90 cubic yard of top soil?

Driving a skid steer is a lot of fun. You must be careful as they are powerful machines. If you bump into something that something will be broken. You probably won't hurt the skid steer but a slight bump into the house will damage the house. So, in the beginning practice out in the open where there is nothing to hit.

Wear the seat belt and have it tight at first. Skid steers are easy to tip. It doesn't hurt anything but it can be startling if you don't expect it.

Getting your topsoil spread in an even layer and smooth enough for sod requires skill. You might find that renting the machine and your slow progress while learning to operate it could end up costing more than hiring a professional to do it for you. But, that's not as much fun. Personally, I recommend renting the machine and have some fun learning to operate it.

So your driveway is exactly 810 SqFt, and since the 90 CuFt of TopSoil equates to 2430 CuFt (90 X 27), then that's covering your entire driveway with exactly 3 Feet of Topsoil (2430 ÷ 810); but that's without leaving any route from the street to the garage.

What are they delivering, Five 18 CuFt Truckloads ? . . . . but not all at once, Right ?

How large is the yard that you're going to distribute this Topsoil on ?

I had landscapers come over and give an estimate on how much it'll cost for grading my backyard. Some said it require anywhere from 100 to 114 cubic yard. I'm still not sure why I would need that much either. It looks like my backyard already have some topsoil. I think all I need is some top soil to fill in some valleys so that it's not too bumpy.

That 80' X 80' backyard reminds me that I once re-graded a small front yard by hand back in 1972 using just my eye-ball . . . . accompanied by a wheelbarrow and a shovel.

I had 10 yards of rotted horse manure delivered from Suffolk Downs Horserace Track, which I spread evenly and graded by hand, followed by my seeding (50% annual rye) again by hand, followed 10 yards of Topsoil that I spread over the seeded area again by wheelbarrow and shovel. Took just one week-end plus my keeping it dampened until the Ryegrass sprouted a few days later.

Did okay . . . . but I was 46 years younger then (and it was my front yard, so I was under the watchful eye of neighbors and needed to do a very quick job that was both good and appeared to be "effortless").

It really depends entirely on what is the quality of the existing soil at the site and what is your goal with the finished lawn. If it's not too hard and somewhat well drained you really don't need any top soil. If it's very clay or very sandy you'll want quite a bit of top soil. Further if you want a golf course perfect lawn, you'll want a thicker layer very well graded; however if you just want some grass, an inch or so would probably be just fine.

As a side note make sure that you generously slope away from the house in all directions. Foundation fill usually settles and you want to compensate for that so you don't have water problems in a couple years.

Marq1, currently my backyard is filled with weeds and other vegetation (some are knee high already). I assumed that means I already have some good soil. The reason I'm hesitated about adding more top soil is that I want to slope it off from my house and it already has a good drain on my back yard. If not, I would have noticed over the last year or so. So, perhaps I should start by measuring and confirming my current soil then.

You want all the grass and weeds dead before you do sod so you don't have weeds coming up through your new lawn. About 2-4 weeks before you intend to do any grading or sod preparation I would spray the entire area with herbicide to kill everything. Something containing glyphosate is most common. Roundup is a popular one but there are many other brands. Spray it then hit it again in about two weeks to make sure everything is dead.

About 2-4 weeks before you intend to do any grading or sod preparation I would spray the entire area with herbicide to kill everything. Something containing glyphosate is most common. Roundup is a popular one but there are many other brands. Spray it then hit it again in about two weeks to make sure everything is dead.

Thank you so much for this suggestion. I've not thought of that yet, very helpful!